When the East meets the West!

Ok..before I start writing, I just want to grumble about the fact that it has taken me 8 tries to write this entry, 7 of them from a small town of Carmona, 25km from Seville, Spain where I was staying for the past two days. I'm currently attempting my 8th entry from Seville. The first 7 failures are due to the dodgy old computer advertised as 'free internet' on the travel brochure, one can now see why it's free *mutter*

Anyway...Bratislava, capital of Slovakia was certainly not part of the cities I planned to visit but once again, due to the flexibility (to a certain extent) of my itinerary, I was able to go there to catch up with my Italian friend and amateur journalist, Gheri who was taking pictures and reporting on the Slovak International Badminton tournament. This is a city famous for its cheap beers (hence, famous amongst the Europeans as Stag do capital of Europe) and Ladas...as common as Holden would be in NZ. As I was neither here to induldge in drunken frenzy or box car collectibles, I used this visit as a pit stop and to catch my breath after 3 weeks whirlwind of flights, sights, travels and castles...What I've done and learnt so far:

1. Spent 915€ (about 48.5€ per day which is still in accordance with my budget, so that's good)

2. Been to 6 cities in 6 countries. It gets to a point, where you are constantly struggling to remember the correct greetings, thank yous and excuse me..e.g even in simply saying yes.."ya...ya" in Amsterdam and Germany to "oui, d'accord" to "yes" in London, to "ya, ya" again in Prague and Bratislava (and now "si..si" in Spain).

3. Saw lots of "WC"..never sure what they stands for..perhaps "Wee Centre". The Toilet papers are not flash either and I have a bum rash to prove it!! *blush*

4. If I hear another "Konichiwa" from an European man trying to flirt me with me, I will be tempted to buy a samurai sword and perform a harakiri on their genitalias...For you kiwis, it's like someone mistaking you for an Aussies...sort of.

5. Pedestrian crossings mean absolutely nothing except marking of white stripe lines on the road. Constant health hazard walking around the cities in Europe I tell you! Also, for us who drive in the "CORRECT" side of the road, i.e left side, it's very disorientating to also have to remember to walk on the right hand side when in Europe or otherwise, you get glares and cyclists shouting obscenities at you!

6. Smokin Europe Batman!! If one thing I don't like about Europe is that it's hard to find a sniff of fresh air anywhere, especially when trying to enjoy your food in a restaurant. I mean I like my smoked salmon like anyone else, but reallllllllly!!! Also, if you book a non-smoking seat on a train to somewhere, that just means you'll be sitting like 3 seats away from the smoking session. What the hell??!

7. As you travel more towards the eastern side of Europe with a Malaysian passport which is as rarely seen in Europe as a non-smoking European, then be prepared to have your passport passed around amongst the borders policemen on trains etc.

8. Seen great t-shirts worn by tourists so far! The Top 2 has to be:
(a) "Life is Sexually Transmitted" and
(b) "People who are constipated don't give a shit"

9. Japanese tourists. Enough said. Oh and also, you see a LOT of Australians around too.."ya maaattte, the beer heeere so cheap maaate!"

10. You're suppose to pay for your subway tickets before getting on the trains but as there's no actual ticket machine for you to swipe your ticket through in order to get to the trains, i.e you can just walk through, no one really pays for their subway rides..except in France. They're too elegant to resolve to anything underhand like zees!

11. Never...Ever...get on a cab in Prague...not only ridiculously expensive and overcharged, but the fact that they are run by corrupted mafias..well, could indeed be the ride of your life or rather, the last ride of your life.

12. You constantly get paranoid when trying to speak to a local in his/her native tongue as you think they probably understand English but are secretly laughing at your pathetic attempt at their language.

13. Trust your map more than an a local giving you directions who would often tell you "right" or "left" without specifying that you actually need to take the 3rd right and then the 2nd left etc.

14. The coffee in cafes here taste sooo good that they make Starbucks coffee taste like mud water.

15. And I can now fully confirmed with 100% certainty that indeed on this side of the hemisphere, the water does flush to the opposite direction!

There's more but I'll save some for when I get back. I'll report on Vienna and Spain soon. Until then, hasta la uego (how it sounds, not spelled), meaning see you later.